Heat

"A Los Angeles crime saga."

1995 2h 50m EN

🙌

7.9

BANGER

★7.9TMDB · 8,769

CrimeDramaAction

Synopsis

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Obsessive master thief Neil McCauley leads a top-notch crew on various daring heists throughout Los Angeles while determined detective Vincent Hanna pursues him without rest. Each man recognizes and respects the ability and the dedication of the other even though they are aware their cat-and-mouse game may end in violence.

“A Los Angeles crime saga.”

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Cast

Al Pacino
Lt. Vincent Hanna
Robert De Niro
Neil McCauley
Val Kilmer
Chris Shiherlis
Jon Voight
Nate
Tom Sizemore
Michael Cheritto
Diane Venora
Justine
Amy Brenneman
Eady
Ashley Judd
Charlene Shiherlis

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Mann
Writers: Michael Mann, Jeff Balsmeyer
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 170 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Heat Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

453+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Mann, shot by Dante Spinotti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Mann directs. Dante Spinotti behind the camera. Elliot Goldenthal scores. Dov Hoenig cuts. A long sit — settle in. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 170 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
3Made its money back 3.1× over at the box office.
431 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
5Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
6Part of the "Heat Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
7453+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
8Directed by Michael Mann, shot by Dante Spinotti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
9Original score by Elliot Goldenthal. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
10Editor Dov Hoenig shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
11Al Pacino and Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer carry the top of the cast.
12Marketing tagline: "A Los Angeles crime saga.".
13IMDB entry: tt0113277 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
14Classified under 26 themes, including "robbery", "chase", "suicide attempt", "gangster".
15Released under 16 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Dante Spinotti
Original score: Elliot Goldenthal
Editing: Dov Hoenig
Production design: Neil Spisak
Costume design: Deborah L. Scott
Makeup / hair: Ken Diaz
VFX supervisor: Neil Krepela
Sound: John Arrias
Stunt coordinator: Joel Kramer
Runtime: 170 min · 2h 50m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $60,000,000
Box office: $187,400,000
Return: 312% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Heat (1995)

Part of

Heat Collection

Michael Mann's crime saga spanning 1989 to 2002, following detective Vincent Hanna and criminal Neil McCauley.

Also by

Michael Mann

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-03-24
★ 10/10
You don't live with me, you live among the remains of dead people. Heat is written and directed by Michael Mann. It stars Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora, Ashley Judd, Amy Brennerman and Danny Trejo. Music is scored by Elliot Goldenthal and cinematography by Dante Spinoti. Big time thief Neil McCauley (DeNiro) is after one last major score before he retires, but hot on his tail is Vincent Hannah (Pacino), a cop equally and methodically as driven as he is himself. In the build up to Heat's release, much was made of it being the first on screen pairing of DeNiro and Pacino. A mouthwatering prospect for sure, it proved to be worth the wait and unfolds as a lesson in restrained acting with two modern greats affording each other the respect that was due. What we didn't realise in the build up to the film's release, was that it would prove to be one of the greatest cops and robbers movies of all time, brought to us by an auteur director whose kink for realism and commitment to research stands him out from much of the modern directing pack. Rarely does a film come together as one, where all the cogs of the engine are in tune, but Heat is one such picture. From cast performances to visual aesthetics, to screenplay and actual substance of story, Heat is as meticulous as it is thrilling. There are a myriad of characters brilliantly stitched together in one de-glamorised City of Angels, as plot develops, and each character and their crumbling relationships come under inspection, we are witnessing a coarse viewpoint of human nature, where people's lives are ended or defined by their choices. Everywhere you look, here, there are folk cracking under the strain of being exposed to high end crime, dreams, hopes and happiness are unlikely to be achieved, and this is on both sides of the law. For Heat, Mann fuses the tonal and visual ticks of Manhunter with that of the adrenalin rushes from Last of the Mohicans, with the former gorgeously born out by Spinoti's pin sharp photography, the latter thrillingly realised by Mann's skill at action set pieces. Once again word of mouth about the key heist and shoot out in the film led to high expectation, and again there is no disappointment. L.A. becomes a battle ground, rapid gunfire punctures the air, cars swerve and crash, bodies fall, visually and aurally it drags you to the edge of your seat, an extended action sequence fit to sit with the best of them. The kicker as well is that because Mann has been so detailed in his characterisations, we care about what happens to all parties, we understand motives and means. Which in a film with such a huge support cast is quite an achievement. There is enough in Heat to fill out a dozen other cops and robbers films, fans of neo-noir and crime films in general are spoilt supreme here. It's not rocket science really, put a group of great actors together, give them an intelligent script to work from and let them be guided by a director who will not sit still, and you get a great film. Heat, the ultimate predator and prey movie, where from beginning to end it refuses to be lazy or cop out, and energy and thought seeps from every frame. 10/10
Gimly2017-06-04
★ 8/10
Partly I'm disappointed in myself for taking so long to watch Heat because it's such a massive influence on one of the best movies ever (The Dark Knight), and one my favourite video games ever (Payday: The Heist). Mostly though, I'm disappointed in myself for taking so long to watch Heat because I've denied myself for so long the privilege of having seen such a great fucking crime movie. Final rating:★★★★ - An all round good movie with a little something extra.
The Movie Mob2022-09-26
★ 6/10
Heat earns its way onto top 25 lists for heist films and 90s action, but its faults keep it low in the rankings. Heat gets so many things right. The stellar cast continues to surprise me with all the different names and faces I recognize when I watch it. The action is exceptional, especially considering this film is over 25 years old. The shoot-out in the middle of the movie is riveting, raw, and powerfully hard-hitting. The story made it impossible to guess exactly how it would turn out - was the cop going to get his man, or was the mastermind thief going to get away? Heat belongs on best heist and action movie lists but not nearly as high as many lists rank it. Heat carries some annoying faults. The ending of the film is abrupt and unsatisfying. The runtime is at least 45 minutes too long. The biggest frustration was Al Pacino’s performance. He was so over the top that his character felt like he was in the wrong movie. Every other action delivered genuine and serious performances while Pacino was screaming about women’s butts. What? Heat is a good film, but these low points keep it from being great.